More than 30 years after the end of the
Vietnam War, Gary Canant returned to the country whose people he had fought, ‘to
find closure and healing’ and ‘make contact and peace with all Vietnamese’.
His
aims during the trip included playing ‘Taps’,
the USA’s most revered bugle call, played during patriotic memorial ceremonies
and military funerals.
Below is the media release published on 20 April 2007 by
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the
United States of America:
‘Veteran Gary Canant, famous author of over 200 letters to
his wife Maxie during the Vietnam War, arrived in Hanoi Monday on a nine-day
trip during which he will play the bugle in memory of war victims.
Accompanying him was Maxie and his son Kevin, who served in Iraq in 2003-04. Maxie said: “Our trip to Vietnam this time aims to commemorate the deaths. And
we want to say we hate war.”
From Hanoi, the family will leave for Quang Tri and Danang – where Gary served
during the war – where he will play the Vietnamese national anthem for the
deceased.
Quang Tri saw some of the most intense fighting and was the northernmost part
of the erstwhile South Vietnam and includes Dong Ha, Quang Tri, Cam Lo, Gio
Linh, the Rock Pile, Khe Sanh, Con Thien, portions of the Ho Chi Minh Trail and
the southern part of the old DMZ.
More bombs were dropped on Quang Tri than on all of Europe during World War II.
The killings have continued even after the war ended in 1975, with over 5,000
people, including 500 children, being killed by landmines, cluster bombs, and
unexploded ordnance left behind by the Americans.
The 61-year-old veteran said: “The Taps In Vietnam concept began as a way for
me to create closure by having the memorial services we never had during the
war. It has since grown into a much larger project to let people who lost so
much in that war express their losses and share common memories.”
He has contacted local governments in Quang Tri to get permission to play the
bugle. Most officials in Vietnam have been warm and welcoming since the focus
of the project is to honor all American and Vietnamese lost during the war
besides innocent victims.
Images from Gary Canant
You can read more about Gary Canant at http://dearmaxie.com/
If you are interested in the history of early America, and Roger Conant as a peacemaker in troubled times you can join the Devon Peacemaker Festival Facebook group at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/700424602802079
